I was checking out the action in the U.S. Open on TV this morning and was informed that, if I was so inclined, I could get ongoing coverage on my mobile phone. Though I won’t be doing that, the fact that I could is surely a sign of the times we live in. To keep members abreast of these confusing, exciting and often incredible developments, we offer “Future Shock,” an introduction to technological advances in the digital age. Written by our regular contributor Steve Pond, we have referred to this story internally as Engineering 101, and it is indeed a primer, and the first in a planned series, on the evolving landscape of the entertainment industry. No one has all the answers and opinions vary on almost every issue—from downloading movies to connecting your computer to your TV—but we think it’s essential to ask the questions and survey where technology is at so we can move intelligently into the future.

Other than keeping up your end of the conversation at a cocktail party, you may wonder why you need to know about things like encryption and metadata. But anything that changes how your work is created and seen is obviously important. For instance, 3-D seems to be exploding well beyond a fad. In 2009, an estimated 5000 screens will be able to project 3-D movies, and respected directors including Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, James Cameron and Robert Zemeckis are all working in this medium. Alex Ben Block catches up on this groundswell for us in his story on the creative possibilities of the new 3-D technology.

Meanwhile, as all this change swirls around us, life goes on, especially on One Life to Live. This DGA Award-winning daytime series has been enthralling audiences for nearly 40 years. The amazing thing about soaps is how fast they get made. Clearly, it’s a well-oiled machine, and without the contribution of the director’s team—associate directors, stage manager and production associates—it just wouldn’t happen. Ann Farmer reports on how things work “Inside the Soap Machine.”

Talk about precision, James Burrows has been crafting sitcom gems since he joined MTM Productions in 1974. As Howard Rosenberg, former Los Angeles Times television critic, points out in his DGA Interview with the director, Burrows has raised the sitcom to high art on such shows as Taxi, Cheers, Will & Grace, Friends and Frasier. You can’t beat that track record.

And getting back to sports, if you didn’t see the NBA playoffs on your cellphone, you may have watched them on your monster screen at home. Either way, it looked great thanks to the work of director Jimmy Moore and his team. David Davis suits up and takes us inside the production truck for this fast-paced broadcast.

All this, and Paul Greengrass, Nancy Meyers, Ang Lee and Sergio Leone. And, you can take the Quarterly to the beach—along with Grace Kelly and Alfred Hitchcock. It is, after all, our summer issue. Hope you enjoy it.

Best,

James Greenberg
Editor in Chief